Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing, inherently...
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary Psychology01:20

Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychology explores the origins of human behavior and mental processes by framing them within the context of natural selection, a theory famously propounded by Charles Darwin. This field asserts that many behaviors common across human societies — ranging from instinctive fear reactions to complex social interactions — arose as evolutionary adaptations. These adaptations enhanced the survival and reproductive success of our ancestors, thereby becoming embedded in the human psyche...
Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
Relationship Formation02:12

Relationship Formation

What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Genetic Characterization of the Cell Types in Developing Feathers, and the Evolution of Feather Complexity.

Evolution & development·2025
Same author

Social Environment and the Evolution of Delayed Reproduction in Birds.

Systematic biology·2025
Same author

Unusual fossil skin appendage is not a feather.

Nature·2025
Same author

Fighting isn't sexy in lekking greater sage-grouse: a relational event model approach for mating interactions.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2025
Same author

Genome and life-history evolution link bird diversification to the end-Cretaceous mass extinction.

Science advances·2024
Same author

Social context and the evolution of delayed reproduction in birds.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 20, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments
09:03

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Aesthetic evolution by mate choice: Darwin's really dangerous idea.

Richard O Prum1

  • 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. richard.prum@yale.edu

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|July 11, 2012
PubMed
Summary

Charles Darwin

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Darwin's theory of sexual selection included an aesthetic component, suggesting mate preferences for arbitrary traits.
  • Wallace proposed a "good genes" mechanism, linking display traits to male viability, contrasting with Darwin's aesthetic view.
  • Modern sexual selection research largely follows Wallace's "honest advertisement" model, often overlooking Darwin's aesthetic hypothesis.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate Darwin's aesthetic theory of sexual selection.
  • To define aesthetic evolution as signal evolution via sensory/cognitive evaluation, including coevolution.
  • To propose a framework for a genuinely Darwinian aesthetic sexual selection theory.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review and theoretical analysis of Darwin's and Wallace's contributions.

More Related Videos

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies
10:50

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Published on: November 8, 2018

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna
06:41

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 20, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments
09:03

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies
10:50

Using the FishSim Animation Toolchain to Investigate Fish Behavior: A Case Study on Mate-Choice Copying In Sailfin Mollies

Published on: November 8, 2018

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna
06:41

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

  • Definition and conceptualization of aesthetic evolution.
  • Integration of the Lande-Kirkpatrick null model with sensory bias, good genes, and direct benefits.

    • Main Results:

    • Darwin's aesthetic theory posits mate preferences for traits without direct survival benefits.
    • Wallace's natural selection model focused on trait honesty and viability.
    • Aesthetic evolution involves sensory evaluation where traits may be preferred without encoding information.

    Conclusions:

    • Aesthetic evolution, driven by sensory preference, offers a distinct pathway for sexual selection.
    • A comprehensive Darwinian aesthetic theory requires incorporating models like Lande-Kirkpatrick and acknowledging sensory bias.
    • Revisiting Darwin's aesthetic ideas can enrich current understandings of sexual selection beyond "good genes" models.